ICRC News 20 / 28.05.97

ICRC News 20 / 28.05.97


** SHORT MENU....

AFGHANISTAN / PLANNED OPERATIONS IN THE NORTH: The deterioration in the 
military situation in Mazar-i-Sharif, in northern Afghanistan, over the 
past 48 hours has forced the ICRC temporarily to suspend its operations 
in the region, as hazardous security conditions are preventing its 
delegates from continuing their work in the field.

SIERRA LEONE / EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE: Over the last few days the 
ICRC delegation in Freetown has managed to keep some essential activities 
going amidst the confusion following last weekend's coup d'itat. Sierra 
Leone Red Cross first-aiders have evacuated several dozen casualties to 
medical facilities in the capital.

RWANDA / DO YOU KNOW THIS CHILD?:How do you trace the families of infants 
too young to know their full names or from where their families come?

SOMALIA / TAPPING WATER SOURCES IN BAY REGION: An ICRC water and 
sanitation team is currently putting the finishing touches to two major 
projects aimed at improving water supply and storage in the central Bay 
region of Somalia.

INDIA / ICRC REPORT ON VISITS TO DETAINEES IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR: On 27 
May 1997 the ICRC officially submitted to Home Secretary K. 
Padmanabhaiah, representing the Government of India, its second 
comprehensive report on the conditions of detention of persons arrested 
and detained in Jammu and Kashmir.

** STORIES IN FULL...

AFGHANISTAN
PLANNED OPERATIONS IN THE NORTH

The deterioration in the military situation in Mazar-i-Sharif, in 
northern Afghanistan, over the past 48 hours has forced the ICRC 
temporarily to suspend its operations in the region, as hazardous 
security conditions are preventing its delegates from continuing their 
work in the field.

The departure of a convoy scheduled to provide 200 tonnes of food aid for 
displaced families in Pul-i-Khumri has been postponed, as has been the 
distribution of 21,000 blankets and other relief items for flood victims 
in Sar-i-Pul and the delivery of food supplies for 250 families (1,500 
people) in Maimana.

A dozen delegates are currently on the spot in Mazar-i-Sharif, and ICRC 
operations will resume as soon as security conditions permit. Priority 
will be given to assessing the town's requirements in terms of food, 
assistance to the destitute, care for the wounded and support for 
hospitals, and to visiting persons arrested in connection with the 
conflict. 

The delegates plan to go to Shibarghan, 150 km west of Mazar-i-Sharif, to 
assess the local hospital's needs. They will also cover the stretch of 
road leading to Andkhui, north-west of Shibarghan, in the province of 
Fayab, to remove the bodies of people killed in the recent fighting. All 
the deceased will be buried according to Islamic rites. Prior to burial, 
photographs will be taken of mortal remains that are impossible to 
identify. The photos will be handed over to the ICRC tracing agency and 
used to try and help families who have filed tracing requests for missing 
relatives.

A few days before fighting between various factions broke out in 
Mazar-i-Sharif, the ICRC had done the rounds of several local hospitals 
to assess their requirements. Medical supplies were delivered to the 
town's civilian hospital, the military hospital and the Chemical Factory 
Hospital. 

Further information: Jean-Luc Paladini, ICRC Kabul, tel. ++873 382 280 
130
Kim Gordon-Bates, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2302


SIERRA LEONE
EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE

Over the last few days the ICRC delegation in Freetown has managed to 
keep some essential activities going amidst the confusion following last 
weekend's coup d'itat. Sierra Leone Red Cross first-aiders have evacuated 
several dozen casualties to medical facilities in the capital.

On 26 and 27 May, ICRC teams went to the Netland and Connaught hospitals 
where more than 40 seriously wounded patients were waiting to be operated 
on. The delegates delivered enough medicines and emergency medical 
supplies (anaesthetics, antibiotics and dressings) to treat about 200 
casualties. On Tuesday they transferred 33 wounded from Connaught to 
Netland hospital, where two surgeons are performing operations.

The ICRC delegation in Sierra Leone comprises 24 expatriate delegates and 
200 local staff working in Freetown, Kenema, Segbwema and Zimmi. During 
recent months some 11,500 displaced people have received resettlement aid 
in the form of three months' food rations. An agricultural assistance 
programme covering 180,000 people is under way in the east of the 
country, where the ICRC is also providing support for 12 health centres 
and a mobile clinic serving isolated communities. The delegation also 
carries out regular visits to detainees and arranges for the exchange of 
family messages between Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Further information: Rolin Wavre, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2876


RWANDA
DO YOU KNOW THIS CHILD?

How do you trace the families of infants too young to know their full 
names or from where their families come? This is the problem facing the 
ICRC and other agencies doing tracing work in Rwanda, which have been 
very successful so far in tracking down the relatives of children 
returning from the former Zaire.

The ICRC and UNICEF have published a 44-page booklet containing colour 
photos of 242 Rwandan children who became separated from their parents 
during the repatriation from Zaire in November 1996. There are now plans 
to produce a second booklet with the pictures of 400 unaccompanied 
infants, all newly registered by the ICRC.

The booklet, which is distributed throughout the country, asks anyone 
recognizing a child to contact one of the ten local ICRC offices. The 
children whose photos are shown are being cared for by MSF-Belgium near 
Gisenyi, by Concern in Ruhengeri and by the Rwandan and Belgian Red Cross 
in Gitarama.

Further information: Bernard Barrett, ICRC Kigali, tel. ++250 77 344 


SOMALIA
TAPPING WATER SOURCES IN BAY REGION

An ICRC water and sanitation team is currently putting the finishing 
touches to two major projects aimed at improving water supply and storage 
in the central Bay region of Somalia. Following the heavy rains of the 
past month, the newly rehabilitated water catchment at Bur Hakaba, an 
area between Baidoa and Mogadishu where there is a large nomadic 
population, is already full. The work on the catchment - an extensive, 
natural valley reservoir which had become silted up - is the first such 
project to be undertaken by the ICRC in Somalia this year. In 1996 a 
total of six catchments around the country were rehabilitated. 

Under a separate project, the team has been drilling a new borehole at 
Doya Nunay, 40 km south of Baidoa. Almost 100 metres deep, the borehole 
will benefit local herdsmen once it is properly equipped. Two other 
boreholes in the area are being rehabilitated; a third, in Baidoa itself, 
was put back in operation in 1996. In addition, five more new boreholes 
are currently being drilled by the ICRC: two in Lower Juba and the others 
in Galguduud, Muduug and Medina (Mogadishu). 

Further information: Laura O'Mahony, ICRC Somalia in Nairobi, tel. ++2542 
723 963


INDIA
ICRC REPORT ON VISITS TO DETAINEES 
IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

On 27 May 1997 the ICRC officially submitted to Home Secretary K. 
Padmanabhaiah, representing the Government of India, its second 
comprehensive report on the conditions of detention of persons arrested 
and detained in Jammu and Kashmir. The report sets out delegates' 
findings during visits to some 3,249 detainees carried out between late 
July 1996 and the end of April 1997. 

The report gives a thorough assessment of the situation in places of 
detention and deals with specific concerns such as respect for the 
dignity of the individual, the physical and psychological welfare of 
detainees, the treatment of detainees by the security forces and prison 
authorities after arrest, the availability of adequate medical care and 
communication between detainees and prison authorities.

The efficiency of the ICRC's activities in this sphere is assured by the 
close working relations it maintains with the prison authorities at all 
levels and the private talks it holds with detainees, with whom it is 
essential to build up a relationship of trust. Reports such as this are 
confidential and intended only for the authorities to whom they are 
submitted. The ICRC began visiting detainees in Jammu and Kashmir on 30 
October 1995 following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with 
the Indian Government on 22 June 1995, and a first report was submitted 
on 26 June 1996. 

Access to all detainees arrested and detained in connection with the 
prevailing situation in Jammu and Kashmir continues to be high on the 
ICRC's working agenda.

Further information: Savita Varde-Naqvi, ICRC New Delhi, tel. ++9111 463 
43 94
Kim Gordon-Bates, ICRC Geneva, tel. ++4122 730 2302


During the week-end of 31 May - 1 June 1997, for all information please 
call the press officer on duty, Michael Kleiner, on (mobile) 41 79 202 42
00